Lovers Unchained (9 page)

Faede smiled at him. “I think she likes you.”

“What is she, the tattoo I mean?”

“She’s an extension of me. When I was made a Guardian, I was gifted with an extra life by the Elder of the Guardians.”

Bruce stared at her with a confused expression. His bride went on to explain what she meant.

“Like mortals say, a cat has nine lives; well, I have two lives. If I’m destroyed in this one, I will be reborn. My dragon here will separate from me carrying my memories along with it. Through it, I’ll be recreated. Only, the new me will not wear a dragon tattoo. The new me will not have another life, as I now do.”

She smiled at him and Bruce smiled back. He had no idea what she was talking about. She was an Immortal; she would live forever and only move on into the Realm of Mist, or into the Pit if she was destroyed. If destroyed, she would not live again, but if she believed she would be recreated because of the mysterious tattoo on her hip, he would humor her. She wouldn’t need to be recreated, because he would never let anything happen to her. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She walked closer to him, no longer the shy, pixie-like woman who entered his room. This woman exuded confidence. He was turned on. When she stood before him, he let his eyes roam over her body, taking in every inch of her. He rubbed his finger over the tattoo. Faede shivered and he could have sworn he felt the dragon shiver as well. 

“Are you a chameleon?” he asked, pulling her body closer to him. He used his tongue to trace the outline of her tattoo and shuddered when she shivered again.

“I’m many things,” she repeated. “Until I am safe, I’m not allowed to tell you what I am.” Bruce stood up swiftly.

“No one will harm you now that I’ve found you,” he snarled, “not even Lana.”

Faede smiled at his words. She ran her hand up his chest, and then to his neck. She grasped the back of his neck and pulled his face closer to hers. Bruce pressed his body against her. When their lips met, he felt the dragon tattoo on her hip stretching against her skin, straining to be closer to him. 

“I want you,” she murmured against his lips.

Bruce pulled back from the kiss and stared deeply into her eyes. He felt her tremble at the intensity in his gaze. Lifting his shirt over his shoulders, and then his head, he threw it to the couch. Then, he unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down. His eyes never left hers while he stepped out of them.

Bruce couldn’t believe this was really happening. Her gaze drifted to his massive chest. He looked away from the tears forming in her eyes; he couldn’t handle her pity; not at this moment.

“Who did this to you,” she whispered, rubbing her finger along the jagged scars on his chest.

“It isn’t important,” he turned his face back to her. “None of this is important now.” 

Faede rubbed her hands down his body, over his flat stomach, to his hard cock. She smiled seductively and took his hardness in her hands. He wanted to go slow with her, but the moment she touched him
there,
all thoughts of patience flew out the window. Faede yelped in surprise when Bruce lifted her up; she wrapped her arms around his neck for balance and he snuggled his face in the crook of her neck.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he commanded.

Faede wrapped her legs tightly around him, while he rubbed a rough hand up and down her back. He cradled the back of her neck and brought her face back to his in a kiss. Faede pressed her body closer to his; the length of him pressing against the wetness of her sex.

Bruce needed her like he needed the air filling his lungs. He smelled her arousal and knowing she wanted him even a little bit made him never want to let her go. Finally, he’d found the woman created for him alone, and she was beautiful. Bruce knew he’d never done anything good in his life to deserve someone as lovely as Faede, but he vowed to the Elders from now on he would try to do better.

His Bride pulled her head back; her mercury eyes no longer swirling.

“I’ve never gone this far,” she whispered and his chest filled with pride.

 He would be her first.

 “I promise not to hurt you,” Bruce vowed. “I’d die before I let anyone hurt you.”

He frowned when the communicator next to his bed buzzed and Lana’s voice filled the air. “Bring them to me now. They are in the bathing chamber.” Lana’s voice brought him back to reality.

Bruce teleported him and his mate over to the device and pressed the intercom button.

 “As you wish,” he said, his heart filling with shame.

How could he take care of and protect a mate when he didn’t have anything to offer her. He was merely a captive, just like her.

“I’ll take you back to your cell now,” he said, sitting her down and getting dressed.

Faede shook her head no. “I’ll wait here until you return. I won’t turn my back on you, not now, not ever. We will find a way out of this. Go to her, I’ll be here when you return.”

Bruce couldn’t believe his ears. He pulled her to him, hugging her as if he never wanted to let her go, and then placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Too choked up to speak, he bowed to her as a sign of reverence, and then disappeared from the room in search of Lana’s current lover.

* * * *

The wink Cole gave Jude pissed him off thoroughly. He felt his eyes changing, turning red.

Cole laughed at him. “Rest assured my friend, I do not make love to men.”

Cole dunked under the water and swam to the other side of the pool. He picked up a bar of black soap and lathered his chest.

 Jude turned to the side; refusing to watch another man bathe. He picked up a bar of soap and lathered his arms. Both men bathed in silence for a while.

“So, how long have you been in here?” Cole asked, splashing water on his face.

Jude ignored him and dunked under the water washing the soap from his hair. When he came up, he shook the water out of his hair and walked out of the pool. There was no towel, he would have to drip dry in front of a man. Jude chose to wait in a stall along the wall instead. The curtain enclosing the stall was sheer; Jude saw out and the vampire could see in.

“We should go over our strategy for today,” Cole yelled.

Jude felt he would be killing the vampire soon. If he knew Lana, she was planning on forcing the leech on him.

“What do we need a strategy for?” Jude asked, not knowing if he really wanted to hear what the vamp would say. Cole’s voice had a slight accent to it. He sounded like he spent too much time in the French part of the Mortal Realm.

“From what I’ve gathered, Lana is a particular woman. She likes things done a certain way. If we’re going to pleasure her together, I think we need to come up with a plan.”

Jude snorted, “I have no desire to pleasure Lana. So, you can plan and strategize all by yourself. Leave me out of it.” Jude had a mate to see to freedom. A vamp with red eyes could not help them.

Cole dunked under the water again; when he came up, his eyes shined redder than before. “How long have you been cursed?” Cole asked.

Jude opened the curtain.

“What curse?”

“The curse of the Dark Witch.” 

“I’ve never heard of the Curse of the Dark Witch.”

Chap
ter 7

“Did you think you were the only one cursed by her?” Cole chuckled. “I know a cursed Immortal when I see one.”

Jude walked out of the stall, no longer caring about his naked state.

“I know I’m not the only one, but how can you tell?”

Jude was suspicious now. No one was ever able to tell he was one of the cursed. There were rumors of others, but when he went in search of others like him, he came up empty handed.

“She leaves her mark. It’s subtle, but it’s there.” Cole got out of the pool and walked towards Jude.

“There’s no need for you to show me, just tell me. What kind of mark does she leave?”

 Cole stopped a few feet away from Jude.

“Your hair is blond, but I bet you’ve never glimpsed the back of your head, have you?”

“What does the back of my head have to do with anything?”

Jude wished Bruce would hurry up.

“When I walked behind you today, I noticed the streak of white hair you have in the back of your head. I bet your four friends have the same streak. I have the same white streak of hair.

Cole turned around and near his nape was a single white strand of hair mixed in with his other jet black strands. Jude stepped back and rubbed his forehead.

 “So, you’re telling me you’re cursed, also? Why are you in such a rush to go see Lana if you have the same curse I have?”

“We encountered the same witch, it does not mean we have the same curse. Mine is to drink, but never feel full, not until I meet my destined bride. No matter how many veins I tap into, no matter how many bags of blood I drink, it’s never enough. The only reason I’ve not gone mad is because sex calms my thirst. It makes my life more bearable. Now that I’ve told you mine, it’s time for you to tell me yours.”

Jude was a little indecisive on whether or not he should tell Cole about his curse. He never talked about it to anyone besides his four friends. What the hell, the vamp wouldn’t be alive much longer.

 “Until I find my mate, I’m not able to enter a woman’s body. I can fuck her mouth, her hand and I guess even her ear if I tried, but I can’t stay hard when it comes time to enter her pussy. So, in a nutshell I can’t have sex until I find my mate.”

“That’s bad, but I think I got you beat,” Cole said.

“Yeah, I agree,” Jude told him. Basically, the vampire was starving, every day, all day.

“We can’t keep Mistress Lana waiting,” a deep voice announced. Jude and Cole turned around to see Bruce.

 “Who’s the bald guy?” Cole asked. Jude laughed,

“Oh, that’s my pal, Bruce. Hey, Bruce, how’s it hanging? How’s the wife?”

Bruce frowned and rubbed his hand over his face.

“I don’t have time for this, right now,” Bruce muttered, walking to the two naked men.

Jude noticed he looked a little distracted. Bruce roughly grabbed them both by the throats and teleported them to Lana’s bed chamber.

“Is there anything else you need, Mistress?” Bruce asked Lana, dropping her two play things to the floor.

Lana lifted an eyebrow speculatively.

 “Is there somewhere else you need to be, Bruce?” Lana purred.

 Normally, Bruce would have bowed his head and apologized for his haste, but no longer. His actions made Jude suspicious.
What are the vampire and Faede up to?

“No, Mistress, I don’t want to be in the way of you and your plans for this evening.”

Yeah, right
. Lana was slowly losing her hold on Bruce. Maybe, just maybe, Jude would be able to talk the leech into helping him and his mate escape. 

Lana walked out of her closet dressed in a red robe. “You know, you can always choose to stay and play, Bruce,” she said, the sound of her voice disgusting Jude.

If Bruce was disgusted he didn’t let it show.

“You know, I was never one to share, Mistress.”

Lana smiled at him. “Yes, I remember quite well,” she said. “You may leave now. I’ll buzz you when I’m done.”

 Bruce nodded his head at her, and then disappeared.

“Now.” Lana clapped her hands, excitedly turning her attention back to her two playthings. “I have an old friend and a new friend; maybe by the end of the night we all can be friends,” she said, looking from Jude to Cole.

 Cole bowed to her. “May I come forward, Mistress?” he begged. Lana beamed at his formality while Jude rolled his eyes.

“Yes, you may, Cole.”

Cole moved forward, taking her hand in his. Turning her hand over to expose her palm, he gently kissed each of her fingertips.

“How may we be of service to you?” Cole asked, his head bowed over Lana’s hand.

 Jude had never seen Lana blush before.

“Well,” she said, fanning herself, “you’re quite the charmer.”

“Would I be too forward if I asked you what you have hidden under your robe?”

Lana blushed again. Opening her robe, she lifted her eyes to Jude to gauge his response. Jude rolled his eyes, again.

“Nice,” Cole said, as Lana slipped her robe over her bare shoulders and down her naked body.

 “You like?” She let the robe drop to the floor.

“I like very much,” Cole said.

Jude didn’t know what Cole was playing at, but he wanted no part of it.

 “Join me on the bed, my loves,” Lana drawled.

 Cole followed close behind her, holding her hand while she climbed onto her bed. He climbed in behind her. As Lana positioned herself in the middle of the bed, Cole motioned for Jude to get the wine glasses. Jude shook his head no and laughed at the frown on Cole’s face.

Jude didn’t know what the strategy was and he didn’t care. His plan was to stay out of Lana and Cole’s way. Then, the vampire could keep his life and he could look around Lana’s room for the key to the handcuffs. Hopefully, Cole could satisfy her to the point where she forgot all about Jude’s presence. Cole pointed toward the wine glasses again and Jude shook his head again.